Method of rendering a printing plate flexible



Jan. 16, 1923.

H. A. HERR.

METHOD OF RENDERING A PRINTING PLATE FLEAIBLE.

FILED MAR. 18, 192:.

Patented Jan. l6, l923 PATENT canoe,

HENRY A. KERR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 ACME ELECTROTYPE 601VTANY, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLIINOIES.

METHOD OF RENDERING A PRINTING- IPLATE FLEXIBLE.

Application filed March 18, 1922.

ible.

Heretofore in using printing plates and especially electrotype or nickelsteel type plates, considerable'difiiculty and inconvenience has beenexperienced in fitting the plate upon the bed or cylinder of the machinein that the surface of the bed or cylinder is not always uniform and theprinting surface of the plate is sometimes uneven, which necessitates aforcing down of portions of the plate,'which is usually accomplished byhammering or pounding upon the face of the plate, with the result thatthe printing surface is often injured and sometimes mutilated, owing tothe rigidity of the plate which prevents the plate from readily yieldingunder such shaping or setting process.

To overcome these difliculties and objections and to provide an improvedprinting plate of this character and to render the same flexible so thatthe material or body of the plate will yield under the hammering down orshaping process, thereby preventinginjury to or mutilation of theprinting surface, is one of the objects of the present invention.

To the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new anduseful results as will be apparent, the invention consists in thefeatures of novelty in substantially the c0nstru0ti0n, combination andarrangement of the several parts, herelnafter more fully described andclaimed and shown in the accompanying drawing illustrating the same andin which Figure 1 is a plan view of the back of a printing plate beforethe same has been shaped or bent into the desired form.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of Figure 1, after the plate has beenshaped.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 of another form of plate I SerialNo. 544,809.

Figure 4 is an end elevation of Figure 3 after the plate has beenshaped.

eferring more particularly to the drawing and in the form of theinvention shown in Figures 1 and 2, the numeral 10 desig-' nates thebottom of the plate having the usual printing surface 11 formed thereonin the usual and well known manner.

After the plate has been thus formed and while the plate is coldthe backof the plate 12 is leveled or smoothed in any desired and well knownmanner. After the smoothing operation the back of the cold plate is cutwith any implement or tool suit-able for the purpose to provide a seriesof parallel grooves 13, which may be of any desired depth and thesegrooves 13 extend lengthwise of and entirely across the back of theplate.

After the grooving operation and while the plate is still cold it isthen bent or shaped in any desired or suitable manner preferably intothe form shown in Figure 2.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 3 and 4, the grooves 14are formed in a manner similar to the grooves 13, after the back 15 ofthe plate has been smoothed, but in this form of the invention theparallel rooves 14 extend in a direction transverse y of the plate andentirely there across. After the plate has been grooved it may be shapedas shown in' Figure 4.

With this improved form of plate and the method of rendering the sameflexible, after the plate has been applied to the cylinder or the bed ofthe press and fastened in position, the finishing shaping operation maybe readily performed by hammering or forcing down the high or unevenportions of the printing surface of the plate. This is accomplished inthe ordinary and usual manner but, with the present invention and owingto the presence of the grooves 1314, which extend either lengthwise orcross-wise of the plate, the body of the plate together with theprinting surface will readily yield and the grooves will permit theplate to be shaped so that the printing surface will be disposed in thesame printing plate.

Obviously the grooves or channels 13-14 may be arranged in any desiredmanner and may, if desired, extend in a diagonal direction acrosstheback of the plate.

Obviously the back of a flat plate may be treated in the same manner soas to render the plate flexible.

What is claimed as new is 1. The herein described method which consistsin first smoothing the back of a cold fiat printing plate, then cuttinga series of grooves or channels in the said back While the plate is flatand extending them entirely across the plate, whereby the, plate will berendered flexible and the plate will yield under a shaping process afterthe plate lias been placed upon'a curved supporting surface, and thenshaping the plate-to conform to the contour of the said supportingsurface.

2. The method of fitting a printing plate upon a curved supportingsurface which consists in first removing portions of the metal of a coldflat printing plate by pro-- viding a plurality of grooves or channelsin 'the back of the plate to extend entirely portions of the metal ofthe back of the plate while the plate is flat, to. form closely arrangedparallel grooves or channels extending entirely across the plate torender the plate flexible, and then hammering down or shaping the worksurface of the plate upon the curved supporting surface.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification on this15th day of March, A. 'D. 1922. 1

HENRY A. HERE.

